Being thrifty becomes enjoyable, doesn’t it?

Sometimes I wish I had more money. I get the catalogs, I peer in the windows at Anthropologie, and dream of the day when we suddenly have a fortune so I can buy that new dish set I saw in the “summer section” at Target, or just make that house repair we need without the endless figuring out and calculating of when and how.

When I dream of that world,most of the time I soon will start to think about all of my trips to my favorite thrift stores, and the thrill of the hunt (and the find). I start to list in my head all of the fabulous things that I’ve gotten that I couldn’t have even gotten in the store. I think about the things I’ve made, the vintage goods, and the items that I’ve gotten so cheap I shouldn’t even mention it (ok, I will, my favorite ever was the Oink Baby terry cloth orange, blue and brown slim-fitting Romper that Lisa spent a small fortune on using eBay – thinking she was getting a good deal at half-off of retail – but me, oh me! I got it basically free at the Dig and Save. Yep, 50 cents a pound on Wednesdays. Maybe it cost a Quarter?).

I digress.

The thrill of living thrifty – it’s like a game. A giant treasure hunt. An inside joke – you know – they all paid full price, but HA! I’m thrifty. I got it cheap. I love it. I might – just might – love it more than having the ability to buy whatever I need, or well, want.

So if you’re with me (and I’m guessing you are – you shop Half-Pint Resale, after all!) then you’ll really appreciate this article. Yeah, yeah, she does it all so she can take a lavish vacation. We’re probably doing it, in some cases, so we can pay for that car repair, or so our daughter can take gymnastics lessons. But the way she describes the life she’s living, the kick she got out of the expensive boutique coat, well, it will resonate.

Take a read. What do you think? Does buying new (or, since some of us are so good at finding new Cheap, shall I say – full price) feel less energetic? Less imaginative? Why are you thrifty?